Of Human Bodies
she interrogates the multitude of meanings behind singular phrases, words, or human perceptions. "There are several versions of the story where she is transformed into a swallow, flies around a pillar." Here, she combines words that have several meanings, making it so that there are multiple ways for a person to understand it. "swallow" is a verb and a bird, "flies" is a verb and an insect. She combines the literal with the figurative.
Except for the leaves: those lashes of our thinking and dreaming and drinking sight.
what is often seen as empty contains remnants of perceptions and actions, humans leave behind extensions of themselves that fall unnoticed
The arches are empty clear to the sky.
arches associated with the kingdom of heaven and perhaps the stands in a football field
like a campus dog, a fraternity ghost
playing around with terms, campus and fraternity are related and a "ghost dog" like the black dog of English folklore.
Her hubby dear loves to cheer when he thinks and he always thinks when he knows and he always knows that his blessed baby wifey is all here and he is all hers, and sticks to her like burrs, blessed baby
a connection between the reactions and perceptions between the couple, an overall feeling of comfort, security, and elation
Bless my baby twinkling with delight, In the house twinkling in the moon light
a lot of repetition of words twinkling, light, baby, and bless. emphasis of how a source of light performs an action, and how it is perceived
Twinkling with delight in the house twinkling with the moonlight, Bless my baby bless my baby bright,
she compares the husband to a star or the moon, a light that stands out amongst darkness
twinkling
close consonants and repeated "i" sound makes a sharp high-pitched noise.
Or if you will, thrusting me beneath your clothing, Where I may feel the throbs of your heart or rest upon your hip
like his poem "Come Closer to me", he wants the reader to feel deeply and personally connected to his work and to take something from it that they carry on
Or else by stealth in some wood for trial, Or back of a rock in the open air, (For in any roof’d room of a house I emerge not, nor in company, And in libraries I lie as one dumb, a gawk, or unborn, or dead,)
the meaning of his poetry extends to the broader world, it can only properly be understood when it is seen as an element amongst all other elements, not a fixed work that should be studied on its own
The whole past theory of your life and all conformity to the lives around you would have to be abandon’d, Therefore release me now before troubling yourself any further, let go your hand from my shoulders,
he wishes to be understood beyond common restrictions of literary and cultural analysis and acknowledges that this is a difficult thing to do when one feels intrinsically tied to what they've already accepted
I am not what you supposed, but far different
he creates a distinction between himself and his work, showing that poets are not to be idealized but seen as equally flawed humans
Whoever you are holding me now in hand, Without one thing all will be useless, I give you fair warning before you attempt me further, I am not what you supposed, but far different.
He strongly establishes the subjective voice of the speaker and the relationship to the reader
Whoever
ambiguity, his message extends to any kind of reader, whether they know him or respect him or not
He hit miss Nancy ‘cross her head Then she rose to her feet and she said
The song ends in a sad tone, the battered wives are left to a hopeless and helpless fate. She hoped that Nancy could succeed at defending herself against her husband, but he ends up beating her anyway into submission. She no longer asks him to change, she only pleads for his comfort because she believes it to be the only comfort she can attain. The song speaks to the harms of domestic abuse and sympathizes with women who stay in abusive relationships. Instead of being seen as crazy, she outlines how they are stuck in a cycle of dependency and escape seems impossible to them. This sympathy for victims is very subversive for this time where women were rarely given a voice.
Why do you treat your girl that way
Questioning the perpetrator of the abuse is seen as rare and deviant. This might give the singer hope that she can reason with her husband.
Black Eye Blues
A song of solidarity for battered wives. They are confined to the home and are silenced by their husbands. Rainey gives them, including herself, a voice and a chance to express their unhappiness. "black eye blues" is a unique form of pain
I’m on my way, crazy as I can be
Instead of criticizing her man she criticizes herself, fearful of driving him away even more. Domestic relationships of this period led to a lot of women's demise which they were subsequently blamed for. It was common for a woman to find herself upset in her relationship and make sense of it by pathologizing herself. Alternatively, this line could be her imagined response from her man, telling her what she wants to hear which is that he cares and is sorry.
When my Daddy stay out late he don’t care a thing for me
Deriving all her value from her man ultimately makes her feel worthless because he rejects her.
I felt like going on the mountain, jumping over in the sea
Here she expresses her true desires, wanting to act independently and do as she pleases. But her relationship is so confining that she stays home just waiting for him to come back.
I had the blues so bad I sit right down on my floor
Feeling such strong solitude and despair without her man makes her so helpless she can only collapse to the floor.
My bell rang this morning, didn’t know which way to go My bell rang this morning, didn’t know which way to go
The song is conveying her codependence to her lover. This repeated line shows how she feels lost without him there, telling her what to do. She's so dependent on someone who isn't around that she's left confused with her own autonomy.
Mmmn, mmmn Mmmn, mmmn
She hums in sadness, then she sings the lyrics by stretching out syllables, sounding like a desperate cry. This sad humming sound is consistent throughout the whole song.
And so, as kinsmen met a night, We talked between the rooms. Until the moss had reached our lips,
Although they are dead, they still have the ability to communicate with each other. She might be implying that communication/talking is a fundamental part of being human and alive, and it's the last thing to go, even after the physical body.
Adjusted in the tomb, When one who died for truth was lain In an adjoining room.
Strong phonetic symmetry with "adjusted in the tomb" and "in an adjoining room", a lot of the sounds are repeated.
“And I for truth,–the two are one;
A life lived searching for beauty and one lived searching for truth are ultimately equal- they are both looking for an unattainable ideal in a flawed world.
And then—to go to sleep— And then—if it should be The will of its Inquisitor The privilege to die—
Later, one might get used to pain and wish to have no consciousness, they're tired of life and want to go to sleep. She connects this desire to her wish to die, both are fulfilling the same purpose, but her suffering requires the permanence of death.
those little Anodynes That deaden suffering—
After experiencing pain, a person seeks alleviation from it in any form
Excuse from Pain
One becomes aware of pain but doesn't experience it just yet, and tries to avoid it.
And then—Excuse from Pain— And then—those little Anodynes
Repetition of "and then-" in the beginning of each line evokes exhaustion. Life's demands seem to never end.
Pleasure—first—
Pleasure is the first request and is contrasted by the following requests which all imply the difficulty of her life and the desire to be free from it. It's the first one because before one experiences pain, during infancy or childhood, they are unaware of pain, they only have an innocent request for things that make them happy.
The Heart
She separates the heart from the self, as if her heart is making requests that she has no choice but to follow, the poem is a list of these requests
Once a dream did weave a shade O’er my angel-guarded bed, That an emmet lost its way Where on grass methought I lay.
Trochaic tetrameter, each line has the same number of syllables, and ends on a stressed syllable to emphasize the rhymes. A simple nursery rhyme sound, telling a story of family, hope, and nature is consistent with Blake's *Songs of Innocence *
hie thee home
Run on home. A simple and happy ending for the ant's story. A mother finds her way home and is reunited with her family, peace and light is restored.
What wailing wight
Alliteration
Pitying, I dropped a tear: But I saw a glow-worm near,
Similar phonology in "pitying" and "but"
wight
a living creature
glow-worm
A firefly? Alliteration joins the hyphenated words together. A firefly can signify light and hope for the desperate ant.
O my children! do they cry, Do they hear their father sigh? Now they look abroad to see, Now return and weep for me.’
In the first couplet she poses a question and in the second she answers it herself. The exclamation point adds emphasis after an unstressed syllable and breaks the line. Both lines beginning with "now' convey her awareness and her hopelessness.
many a tangled spray,
a pile of twigs
Troubled, wildered, and forlorn, Dark, benighted, travel-worn,
A list of adjectives separated by commas makes for a faster rhythm
emmet
an ant
Once a dream did weave a shade
Sound flows symmetrically with emphasis on "dream" and "weave"
post o’er Land and Ocean
Repetitive "O" sound
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
A change in rhythm although it's still in iambic pentameter, the period at the end of the sentence slightly disrupts the flow.
who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best.
This phrase connects both lines with repetition of the word "best". Best followed by bear is alliteration.
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
Punctuation in the middle of the line creates a break to signify the end of his question, and a shift in voice since the rest of the poem is the response to his question. The rest of the line could be his patience, the space where he waits to hear an answer.
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
The only purpose his talent serves now is to bend his soul, could be a play on mending a soul, so his soul is now damaged. In contrast to line 1 that it rhymes with, meaning he used to spend his days writing. Now, he can no longer use his talent of writing to spend his time.
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Death juxtaposes life which is described in "how my light is spent, ere half my days". The loss of his talent, or his inability to use it is compared to death because this "one" talent defined his life.
dark world and wide
"Wide" in Old English could mean vast, unguarded, exposed, or alert. Compounding in "dark world", "wide" is separately added. The world itself is dark as opposed to light. His vision shifts and he feels exposed and afraid of a world he can't see.
light
Light represents vision, blindness has caused his light to disappear. Light is also a connection to God and heaven.
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and wait.”
CDECDE rhyme scheme
When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
Iambic pentameter, ABBA rhyme scheme
Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying.
ABAB rhyme scheme, classic stanzaic structure, 4 quatrains
Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying;
Compounding: rose-buds, Old Time, same flower
Then be not coy, but use your time,
The message that you can't control the passage of time and eventually youth is spent and you die can seem defeating, but he adds that there are things you can control so you shouldn't take your opportunities and your autonomy for granted.
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, The higher he’s a-getting, The sooner will his race be run, And nearer he’s to setting.
Comparing the sun to heaven. When the sun is high, during the day, heaven is far away, the idea of death is out of mind but heaven overlooks everything from a distance. As the sun sets, heaven gets closer to us, we're no longer protected by its divinity, death meets us at ground level and confronts us eventually.